Climate Change and Peri-Urban Household Food Security—Lessons from West Taraka, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Climate change has become a major concern towards the stability of global food production due to long and short-term climate related events. This paper will incorporate climate data to build on the existing data on the status of household food and nutrition security in one of Lae’s peri-urban settlement, West Taraka in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. Two data sets were collected: household dietary patterns and changes in food production, and socio-economic characteristics, using stratified purposive sampling for selected fifty-eight (58) households in June 2016 through household survey and informal interviews (mixed method). Results show no statistical relationships between socio-economic characteristics of the households and their Household Dietary Diversity Score and Food Consumption Score. However, a significant inverse relationship at 95% probability exists between the numbers of household members in school with the Household Food Consumption Score. This study also found a significant positive relationship at 99% level probability between household income and Food Consumption Score signaling that income was the main determinant of household food and nutritional security.